Proverbs 24

You know, we as Christians are supposed to march to the beat of a different drummer, the beat of a heavenly drummer. We are to, in our speech and in our conduct, be unlike the culture around us. That difference should be most evident in how we treat those who are hostile to us. As you know, as we have been studying the book of Proverbs, we've been looking at relationships. with our spouse and particularly in some ways we discussed that boy it can be pretty easy to have a good relationship with your spouse and then we talked about being friends and developing good relationships with friends but today I think we move into a subject that would be a challenge and is a challenge for each of us we're going to talk today about dealing with our enemies who are hostile to us.

Do you now have or have you experienced someone who is hostile to you?

It might be a spouse or a former spouse. It might be a hostile co-worker. It might be a former friend who is now an enemy, who has done hurtful things to you or says hurtful things about you. It might be a hostile child, someone who you labored over, bled for, hurt for. but now it's so difficult to deal with.

It might be a neighbor. You know how it can be. Little things can get to be big things. That bush that was right on my line that you cut the limb off of and suddenly relationships are damaged. It might be a member of this church.

somebody who, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we should be close to, but we know how relationships can be even in the body of Christ. Sometimes the most difficult relationships to heal are when there is hostility in the body.

Well, how do you treat these people? If you have experienced a hostile situation, how do you treat these people? More importantly, how should you treat these people? That's the question we're going to deal with this morning. Let me make one observation as we begin.

The lesson today is primarily about how we as individuals deal with those people who are personally hostile toward us. We are not today going to deal with the issue of how the state or government deals with evil. God has ordained government. And one role and function of the state or government is to do good in the sense particularly of restraining evil people. and what is permissible for the government to do in reacting to evil

is often different from what we are permitted to do at the individual level. We are not to take the law into our own hands. We're to leave that into the hands of those that God has given it to. So today primarily I'm going to be talking at the individual level but we will deal a little bit with some bigger picture issues. plain talk about dealing with our enemies. Let's begin, if you have your Bibles, let's go to Proverbs chapter 24. And we're going to ask ourselves a series of questions here as we go through the text. We're going to deal with one passage in Proverbs 24 and then one in chapter 25. So Proverbs 24 verses 17 and 18 to begin with. Everybody with me? Do not gloat when your enemy falls.

When he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him.

So the first issue in dealing with our enemies that I want to ask today is how are we to respond when our personal enemies experience misfortune? Now let me make a couple of observations before I answer the question. Number one, in verse 17 when it says, Do not gloat when your enemy falls. The word your is singular. That's why I think this particular passage, these couple of verses, is talking about personal enemies.

It's talking about singular your, your enemies. Number two, the word enemy means anyone who is hostile to us. It doesn't necessarily have to be someone who's shooting literal bullets at us. Anyone who is hostile toward us would fall within this definition of an enemy. Sometimes those enemies, as the text says in verse 17, sometimes they fall and sometimes they stumble.

That's talking about our enemies experiencing personal misfortune. Something bad happens to our enemy, the person who is hostile. all go, yes! They finally got what they deserved. Praise God, I love it.

Could it happen again tomorrow? One more time.

We laugh because it isn't that often our response. But what does the writer of Proverbs say? The inspired writer who wrote what God wants us to do. He says, we are not to gloat or to rejoice. And that word gloating has the notion of an inward shout of joy.

we are not to delight in the misfortune of our personal enemies. Now this is not to say that when it comes to evil in the world in general, which we're going to talk about in a minute, that we shouldn't take satisfaction that God deals with evil. But at the personal level, when we're dealing with somebody who is hostile to us, are not to gloat that they have suffered misfortune. There's a reason for that. There's a reason for that. Why not? Isn't that the natural reaction? Why shouldn't I gloat? Why shouldn't I rejoice at the personal difficulty that this person faces? Well, our text tells us why we shouldn't. Number one, God will be displeased with us. Verse 18 says, or the Lord will see and disapprove. Now the text doesn't pause to tell us why the Lord will disapprove if we're gloating over the misfortune of our enemies. So I'm going to venture a couple of thoughts here about why the Lord will disapprove if we gloat or rejoice over the misfortune of our enemies. I think one reason the Lord will disapprove is that in a sense when we gloat or rejoice, we sort of put ourselves in the place of being the judge. And it is God alone who reserves to himself the right to judge others. So let us not presume to elevate ourselves to being the judge of others when it comes to what kind of particular punishment they should suffer.

Secondly, I think the Lord is often displeased when we gloat about the misfortunes of others because in our gloating, we forget our own shortcomings and God's grace toward us. They got what they deserve. You see how they behave. You see what they say. You see how that got just what they deserve it's the pot calling the kettle black so often because we all have our own shortcomings don't we and when we begin to rejoice over the punishment others suffer because of their shortcomings we begin to presume on god's grace he has treated us so kindly so tenderly when we were very much deserving of the very misfortune that has befallen the one who is hostile to us i think another reason that the lord is displeased in a point that we will deal with more in a few moments is that we as believers in the lord jesus christ are even to love those who are hostile to us.

And biblical love has the notion that we are always to want what is best for the other person. Even the person who's hostile to us. So this notion of sort of gloating over their misfortune is contrary to the notion of biblical love even toward our enemy. So the Lord is displeased when we don't have this attitude of love our enemies. There's a second reason given why we shouldn't gloat. Not only will the Lord be displeased, but we risk God's punishment when we begin to gloat. This is implied in the text.

The second half of verse 18 says, not only will the Lord see and disapprove, he will turn his wrath away from him,

suddenly when the Lord sees us gloating, it's sort of like, you ever had those of us who have children,

two, you know, brother and sister, one of them gets in trouble, gets punishment, boy, the other one loves it. Yeah! Yeah, mama! Yeah, oh yeah, they've done wrong. They really deserve that.

I'm glad you finally did that. They really deserved it. And a good parent will turn and say, If you're not careful, your turn's coming.

So there's a warning here that we not gloat over the misfortunes of others. Now we're going to ask another question. Let's read verses 19 and 20. Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of the wicked. For the evil man has no future hope.

and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out. So the second question we're asking this morning is how are we to respond when evil, wicked people exist and seem to prosper? Now this is a bigger question. Primarily this morning we're dealing with the issue of how do we deal with our personal enemies. but the psalmist as he's talking about excuse me the writer of proverbs as he's dealing with this issue of how we deal with personal enemies sort of steps back and looks at the bigger picture and says how are we to respond when we look out there and see evil people and wicked people who seem to be prospering these people may well be our enemies these big wicked people but he sort stepping back and asking the bigger picture question.

As we look at the world in general, not just at our own personal enemies, but we look at the whole world and we see the wickedness that is in it, the evil, the wrongdoing. What is supposed to be our attitude toward this evil in general, these evil people in general? It's a good question, isn't it? It's a good question to ask today, three days before 9-1-1 is celebrated.

in a horrible sort of way.

How are we to respond when we see evil in the world? The kind of deep-seated, deep-rooted, horrible, black evil.

The psalmist gives us a couple of answers. The writer of Proverbs gives us a couple of answers. Number one, we are not to fret. We are not to fret. The literal meaning of the word here that is translated fret means we are not to become hot.

Now it's not the picture that we're never to have any anger when we see evil in the world. It's the picture of becoming hot in the sense of becoming frustrated, agitated, overly vexed, feeling helpless, fretting about our helpless condition and inability to respond to the evil that we see. Don't we sense that sometimes? We just wish we could do something about it. We wish we could deal with the problem directly.

And we become agitated and frustrated because we cannot. The writer of Proverbs says, do not fret. Do not become agitated. Do not become frustrated. What David said in the Psalms, Psalm 37, 1, do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong.

this is a hard one for me. I imagine it is for you. When I think of somebody like an Idi Amin, you remember that name? I think he's in Saudi Arabia now. I think he's still alive.

But he was the president of Uganda. During his reign, some 400,000 Christians, they estimate, were killed or disappeared. Edie Amin himself personally executed the Archbishop of the Anglican Church in Uganda. Took a pistol and shot him. There's a part of me that says, just let me at him.

You know, let's take care of this guy.

And I begin to fret and get frustrated. Or I think about an Osama bin Laden. that kind of despicable, horrible evil, it's easy to become frustrated. The writer of Proverbs says, don't fret.

Don't fret.

We're going to come back and answer the question, why shouldn't we, in just a moment. We're not to fret. And secondly, we're not to be envious. You see that? Don't fret because of evil men the wicked. In other words, we're not to be jealous of what seems to be the prosperity of the wicked or evil person. We're not to want to be like them or to have what they have. The reality is we often are envious of people, even wicked people, who have power, who have money, who have status.

We want what they have got. It's sort of like Michael Corleone in The Godfather. Remember that movie? Al Pacino played Michael Corleone. And all of those around him who were under him in power wanted to be like him.

They wanted His power, His status, His prestige, His money, His women.

Instead of envy, the writer of Proverbs would want us to have the opposite feeling. We should not only despise what they have, we should despise them. As the writer of the psalmist says,

There is a real sense in which we should never be envious of the evil person. In fact, it should be just the opposite. Okay, we know what we're not supposed to do, but why not? Why shouldn't we fret? Why shouldn't we be envious?

The writer of Proverbs gives us the answers.

verse 26. The evil man has no future hope. No future hope. And secondly, the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out. The psalmist says this, Psalms 37 verses 9 to 10.

For the evil person will be cut off a little while and the wicked will be no more. Though you look for them, they will not be found. David in Psalm 73 was just overcome by the wickedness that he saw. And he envied, he says in Psalm 73, 3, I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles.

Their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens of the common man. They're not plagued by human ills. From their callous hearts comes iniquity. conceits of their minds know no limits surely in vain i've kept my heart pure in vain have i washed my hands in innocence you hear what he's saying all these people doing great even though they do evil they seem to be doing well they have no problems they've got all the money they want big houses big cars and here i am trying to live a holy pure life and i'm poor and don't have anything Why am I doing this?

And then David says, When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me until I entered the sanctuary of God. Then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground, O Lord. You cast them down to ruin. how suddenly they are destroyed, completely swept away by terrors.

For his own purposes, God gives evil people sway in a limited sense on earth. If we look at the big picture, ultimately they only work everything in a way that God's plan is ultimately carried out, like Judas who betrayed Jesus and did exactly what needed to happen so that we would have a Savior crucified for our sins. Though he did evil, God used it ultimately for good. But the writer of Proverbs tells us, folks, we've got to take an eternal view. this life is not all there is.

There is a day of reckoning. So do not fret.

Because the judge of the universe will set things right one day. The wicked have no future hope. Don't be envious of them and don't fret. because the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the one who will come riding on the imagery in Revelation 19, he comes on a great white horse and there's a sword coming out of his mouth to smite the nations. He's going to deal with wickedness and evil.

There's a great scene in the Chronicles of Narnia, those books that C.S. Lewis wrote. The most famous one is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The second one is a book called Prince Caspian. And Prince Caspian is a young prince whose father has been overthrown as king and now evil men seem to reign and have control of everything.

And one day his teacher, in a quiet corner, whispers in his ear,

Despite what you see, this is not the land of men. It is the country of Aslan. Aslan was a great lion in the story who represents Christ. And what the teacher was saying to young Prince Caspian is, I know it may look like evil's in control. I know it may look like evil men are ruling this land.

It's not the land of men. It is the country of Aslan. Ultimately, the Lord of lords, the King of kings is in charge and will set things right. So don't fret. Don't be envious.

of Christians who fret when evil things happen. And we are to be concerned about it. But there should be a calm assurance in our lives when we look at evil, a calm assurance that it will be taken care of. Last question of the morning. How are we to respond to our personal enemies, how are we to respond to our personal enemies when they are in need? Now we're going back to asking the question about your personal enemy, somebody who's hostile to you. Chapter 25 verses 21 and 22. If your enemy, I'll let you turn to it. If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head and the Lord will reward you. So how are we to respond to our personal enemies when they are in need? We are to help them. If they're hungry, we're to feed them. If they're

something to drink. In other words, we are not to repay in kind. We are not to repay evil for evil. We're not to take revenge. We are not to retaliate.

As Paul wrote in Romans, do not repay anyone evil for evil. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, to avenge. I will repay, says the Lord. And instead of repaying in kind, we are to live by the golden rule.

Everybody remember the golden rule?

King James Version, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. So when you begin to deal with your enemy who's hungry, what would you want somebody to do for you in that circumstance? You'd like to be fed. You'd like to be helped. We are to be good Samaritans, even toward those who are hostile to us.

You remember the good Samaritan? A Samaritan finds the implication is an injured Jewish man. The Jews hated the Samaritans. And when this good Samaritan finds this injured Jewish man, does he just walk by and leave him? No.

He helps him. He helps him. We are to love our enemies. I think this is where Christianity is so radical. We don't say, go kill your enemies so you can achieve paradise.

We don't say, get a plane, crash it into the World Trade Center.

Or the Twin Towers. We say, love your enemies. Jesus hit on this pretty hard, didn't he? In the Sermon on the Mount. You have heard that it was said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. In other words, we are to be different.

Why are we to help? Why are we to help them?

the text says because you'll heap burning coals on their heads I kind of like that sounds like I'm really going to get them

this is an interesting

imagery isn't it to heap burning coals on their head there was an ancient Egyptian practice that we know of writings where when you were going to seek forgiveness from someone you had wronged, you would get a pan of hot coals and actually hold it over your head as you would go to see the person to ask for repentance. And it was sort of a picture that you had judged, fires, imagery of judgment, you had already judged yourself, and we're now coming to seek repentance. And there's a real sense, isn't there, when we treat someone kindly who has treated us badly, that we shame them.

We make them realize, hopefully, how they are acting. And the picture of the burning coals on the head is, yes, to shame someone, to help them see their bad actions, but the goal is not simply to shame them. The hope is that the burning coals, the shame, will wake them up so that they will repent and change from their ways.

it's this philosophy that has been behind some of the history of non-violent resistance

many of us can remember Martin Luther King Jr.

and while things didn't always work out the way they should have in some of those marches the whole idea behind the non-violent march to demonstrate against injustice and hostility was to shame those who were unjust. Not to injure them, but to shame them. And boy, it's hard to go back and watch some of those pictures today when Bull Connor was hosing, turning the hoses on the marchers and sending the German attack dogs, shepherds to attack. I feel shame. I wasn't the one doing it. So there is a real sense that when we treat people kindly, we have the hope that we can turn them by helping them see their ways. And we're also told that the Lord will reward us. You will heap burning coals on his head and the Lord will reward you. Why will he reward us? If we evil or hostility with kindness and goodness and help, why will the Lord reward us?

I think there's several reasons. We've been obedient to God's command to let Him be the final judge. We're showing that we're different because of our faith. We're not acting like the pagans. We love our enemies.

As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Don't even pagans do that? If we only treat people well who treat us well, how's that been any different than the world?

The only way we're different is when we return evil with good. We create the greatest opportunity for repentance of our enemies when we treat them kindly, and it's the best opportunity to make an enemy a friend.

As Abraham Lincoln said, I destroy my enemy when I make him my friend. And John Newman said, we should ever conduct ourselves toward our enemy as if he were one day to be our friend.

So, how do we put some feet to this? Here are my lessons for life, seven of them. First, let's examine ourselves when we face hostility from others and ask ourselves the questions. Have we done anything to cause offense? Is there something I can do to heal the rift?

If so, go do it. Secondly, let's try to understand those who are hostile to us. Remember, everyone has a story, sometimes a painful one, hostility we experience is because something else difficult is going on in that person's life. And if we can understand what's happening in that person's life, maybe we can do something to help reduce the hostility. Thirdly, let's check the content and tone of what we say about those who are hostile to us. Let's don't add fuel to the flames. It's really easy when somebody is hostile to us to say a lot of mean and negative things about them, particularly to everybody we come in contact with. Can you believe how this person acts? Can you believe what she did?

And pretty soon we've poisoned the well among a whole lot of people. It's particularly tragic when that happens in the body of Christ. But sometimes we're like two boys on the playground who one says something ugly to the other, and then the other says something about the other's mama, and then something says something about the other's sister, and suddenly we've

Let's tone down what we have to say. Let's not allow the hostility of others to control us. I have seen so often in my law practice, when people are angry toward one another, their whole lives begin to be controlled by this difficult relationship. A partner of mine had a gentleman who was so angry that he, in a divorce situation, he said, she can have the house, she can have the car, but she will not get my riding lawnmower. And he was so hostile that he no longer could think straight.

Anything but the riding lawnmower. And sometimes we get like that, though, folks. get so worked up we don't think straight. Let's practice being kind and forgiven. And I mean let's practice. Maybe toward those who are hostile we need to make a real effort to learn how to say something nice to them. And maybe we need to really practice when we're talking about someone who's hostile to a third person. We need to find something positive to say.

Let's begin to practice. Let God be God. Trust Him to set all things right. We don't have to do that. This takes so much pressure off.

Just let Him handle it. If somebody says something mean and ugly about us, you know, we don't have to always respond. We can trust God to handle it. And lastly and finally, remember, blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. So let's remember what the Apostle Paul said.

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Practical advice for dealing with those who are hostile to us. Let's close in prayer. Lord, this day we acknowledge that often we respond in sinful and inappropriate ways when people are hostile to us. I pray that you will help us to be different.

I know, Lord, in this class, there are situations right now where people are dealing with someone who is hostile to them. Sometimes someone they once loved. I pray for a special measure of the presence of your spirit. upon everyone in this class who is dealing with such a situation. I pray that you will keep their hearts soft, their tongues kind, their actions generous, and that they will trust you to deal with the difficult situation.

For it's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.